Network pharmacology combined with experimental verification for exploring the potential mechanism of phellodendrine against depression.

The anti-inflammatory effect of phellodendrine (PHE), derived from Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex, has been verified in previous studies. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with immune dysregulation and inflammatory processes. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic effects of PHE on MDD through network pharmacology and experimental validation.

In-Plane Polarization-Triggered WS-Ferroelectric Heterostructured Synaptic Devices.

To date, various kinds of memristors have been proposed as artificial neurons and synapses for neuromorphic computing to overcome the so-called von Neumann bottleneck in conventional computing architectures. However, related working principles are mostly ascribed to randomly distributed conductive filaments or traps, which usually lead to high stochasticity and poor uniformity. In this work, a heterostructure with a two-dimensional WS monolayer and a ferroelectric PZT film were demonstrated for memristors and artificial synapses, triggered by in-plane ferroelectric polarization.

Neuronal mechanisms of nociceptive-evoked gamma-band oscillations in rodents.

Gamma-band oscillations (GBOs) in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) play key roles in nociceptive processing. Yet, one crucial question remains unaddressed: what neuronal mechanisms underlie nociceptive-evoked GBOs? Here, we addressed this question using a range of somatosensory stimuli (nociceptive and non-nociceptive), neural recording techniques (electroencephalography in humans and silicon probes and calcium imaging in rodents), and optogenetics (alone or simultaneously with electrophysiology in mice). We found that (1) GBOs encoded pain intensity independent of stimulus intensity in humans, (2) GBOs in S1 encoded pain intensity and were triggered by spiking of S1 interneurons, (3) parvalbumin (PV)-positive interneurons preferentially tracked pain intensity, and critically, (4) PV S1 interneurons causally modulated GBOs and pain-related behaviors for both thermal and mechanical pain.

Gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids signatures in postmenopausal osteoporosis patients: A retrospective study.

Studies have shown that gut microbiota (GM) and its metabolites, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), are associated with the development of postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO). This study explored the clinical and laboratory evidence of the relationship of GM and SCFAs to PMO and attempted to determine the potential mechanism of action. 18 patients (Collected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University between January 2021 and August 2021) were included in this retrospective study, including 10 PMO women and 8 healthy young women as the healthy control (HC) group from Guangzhou, China.